Order of the Shield

Order of the Shield
General information
Founder(s):	Gades Sophus
Leader(s):	Gades Sophus
Historical information
Founding:	28 ABY
Dissolution:	32 ABY
Other information
Notable members:	Gades Sophus, Carla Elsin, Neesh Hunew, Klug, Aisha Qifaxa (formerly), Jaspen Kraitus
Affilliation:	New Jedi Order
Era(s):	New Jedi Order Era Dark Jedi Brotherhood Era
[ Source ]

The Order of the Shield was a sect formed by Gades Sophus in early 28 ABY with a handful of Jedi Knights who had been stranded in the Orian system by the Yuuzhan Vong War due to the restrictions imposed by the Dlarit Corporation on access to public transportation. Not all of the Order were Jedi, with several other stranded Republic operatives also counted among their number. While Gades's motivation was originally to help the stranded Republic troops find a way off-world and get back to the war, it was not long after his arrival that his goals shifted to investigating the dark aura he sensed permeated the system.

Despite its initially noble origins, the Order adopted a hard-line approach, becoming obsessed with getting to the source of Gades's uneasiness. Whether the Order's members fell to the dark side was unclear, though their actions certainly strayed outside the remit of the Jedi Code into territory some of the stranded Jedi grew deeply uncomfortable with. However, despite their questionable behaviour, the Order remained devoted—albeit perhaps dangerously so—to restoring light to the galaxy.

Come 31 ABY, with the siege of the leftover Peace Brigade forces under the command of Yashais dei Izvoshra and the Yuuzhan Vong remnant led by Varesh Shai, many of the Order's knights fell during the defence of the Sky City of Amphor, where the stranded Jedi were based. Following the siege, with the war finally at an end, restrictions on public transport eased and efforts began to repatriate the stranded refugees to their homeworlds. However, the Corporation's efforts to support the refugees was slow coming, with funds largely being diverted to the reconstruction efforts at Markosian City on Tarthos, and permits closely controlled and subject to full background checks before being issued. With the Order's members still stranded for the time being until their names came to the front of the list, all Gades and the others could do was wait.

By 32 ABY, when the Voice of Justice movement led by the terrorist calling herself Deliverance caused public unrest throughout the system, the Order appeared to have disappeared, with no further sightings of errant Jedi. Agents from the Special Operations Group reportedly discovered bodies bearing lightsabers in dumpsters in the various refugee camps that had been set up the previous year, but there remained no clear answer as to what had happened to them.